How do you sell your McKinney home and buy the next one without getting stuck in between?

• Getting "stuck in between" happens when your sale closes before your purchase is ready. You avoid it by lining up both dates from the start, not at the end.
• Same day: your sale and purchase close together, and the money from one moves into the other at the title company.
• Stay after closing: in Texas you negotiate it in the contract and put it in writing on a TREC temporary residential lease.
• Buy first: if your lender approves you carrying both homes for a while, or with a bridge loan or a line of credit.
• In McKinney, your home is valued by the Collin County appraisal district. Checking your account there helps you understand the taxes that get prorated when you sell.

It's almost never bad luck. It's sequence. A family lists, gets a strong offer, signs with a closing date, and only then starts shopping seriously. They find a home, make an offer, and the purchase closes weeks after the sale.

Closing day comes, they hand over the keys, and the new home isn't ready. The result: a short-term rental, a storage unit, kids split between two places, and a second move.

Here's what that means for you: your sale's closing date doesn't get picked on its own. It gets picked by looking at the purchase. That's why the plan lives on one page, with both dates side by side.

I've also written about how the closing date decides whether you move once or twice, if you want more examples.

1. Close on the same day. Your sale closes in the morning, your purchase in the afternoon. Your sale proceeds pay off your current loan and the rest goes into your purchase. It's the cleanest approach, but both dates have to match in both contracts, and your buyer and your seller both have to perform on time. If one slips, so does the other.

2. Stay in your home after you sell. You negotiate a short stay, days or a few weeks, in your sale contract. The Texas contract says possession is delivered at closing or under a TREC temporary residential lease. Without that written lease, the same form warns that both parties may be exposed to losses and insurance may be limited. With it, you have clear dates and a cushion if your purchase runs late. More on staying in your house after you sell.

3. Buy first. If your lender approves you while you carry both homes for a while, or with a bridge loan or a line of credit on your equity, you buy, move in calmly, and then sell the empty house. Your lender confirms whether you qualify.

There's a fourth piece that can pair with any of these: buying with a home sale contingency, using the TREC addendum. It protects you if your home doesn't sell, though the seller can keep accepting other offers.

1. Lender first. They tell you whether you can buy before you sell or need your sale proceeds. That answer picks half the plan.
2. Your real number. What your home is worth, minus what you owe, minus the costs of selling, including the commission, which we agree on in writing before we start. That's what you carry into the next home.
3. Your account at the Collin appraisal district. The City of McKinney points homeowners to the Collin Central Appraisal District property search. There you can see your home's appraised value and exemptions. The district doesn't set tax rates or collect taxes; the city, county and other taxing units do.
4. The page with both dates. When you list, when you shop, when each side closes, and what happens if one moves.
5. Prepare your home for sale while you look for the next one, so you don't lose weeks.
6. The contracts. On the sale: a closing date built around the purchase, plus the temporary lease if you're staying. On the purchase: dates that line up with the sale, plus the contingency addendum if you need it.
7. Both closings. The title company pays off your loan from the sale proceeds. The current year's taxes are prorated through the closing date, as the TREC contract provides.
8. After you move. If the new home is your residence, you file your homestead with its county's appraisal district.

If you want to see which option fits you, answer 5 questions at veronicayeary.com/sell-and-buy.

• Signing the sale without looking at the purchase. Your sale closing date gets chosen with your purchase in mind. Otherwise, that's where the double move starts.
• Staying after closing on a handshake. The Texas contract calls for a written lease. On a handshake, nobody is protected.
• Assuming you always have to sell first. That used to be the norm. Now there are more ways to sequence it, and one of them may save you the second move.
• Closing the same day with no cushion. If one date slips, so does the other. It helps to have a backup, like a few days of temporary lease negotiated into the sale.
• Forgetting the homestead on the new home. It doesn't transfer by itself. You file it with the appraisal district in your new home's county.

Picture a McKinney family with two kids in school. They want a bigger home and don't want to change schools mid-year, so their fixed date is the last day of class.

First they talk to a lender: they can buy, but only with the money from their sale. So they build the page: prepare the house, list it with a closing date built around the purchase, and negotiate a short stay after closing on the TREC temporary lease. They find their next home, offer with dates that fit, and the two closings land a few days apart.

One move, and the kids stay in their school until the last day. That's an example, not a real client; your situation may point to a different option.

• Your lender's answer: whether you can buy before you sell, or only after.
• Your real walk-away number, on the walk-away calculator.
• Your Collin appraisal district account: your home's appraised value and exemptions.
• The dates that can't move: school, work, a lease ending.
• The forms that will be used: the TREC contract, the temporary lease and, if it applies, the contingency addendum. They're at trec.texas.gov.
• Your next home's area: the official school district map and the FEMA flood map. The McKinney area page shows where to start.

For the families Veronica Yeary works with in McKinney and across Dallas-Fort Worth, this page gets built before the sign goes up.

Can I sell my McKinney home and keep living in it for a while?

Yes, if it's negotiated in the sale contract. In Texas it goes in writing on a TREC temporary residential lease, with clear dates and terms. Without it, the contract warns that both parties may be exposed to losses.

Can I close my sale and my purchase on the same day?

Yes. Your sale proceeds pay off your loan and the rest goes into your purchase at the title company. Both dates have to line up in both contracts, and it's smart to have a backup in case one slips.

Do I have to sell before I can buy?

Not always. If your lender approves you carrying both homes for a while, or with a bridge loan or a line of credit, you can buy first. If not, the plan is built around selling first with a few days of temporary lease.

Which appraisal district values my McKinney home?

The City of McKinney points homeowners to the Collin Central Appraisal District property search. That's where you see your home's value and exemptions. The district doesn't set rates or collect taxes.

What happens to this year's property taxes when I sell?

Under the TREC contract, the current year's taxes are prorated through the closing date: you pay your share and the buyer pays theirs. If the actual bill differs once statements come out, the parties adjust afterward.

Not getting stuck starts with knowing which option fits you, before the sign goes up.

Answer 5 questions and see which option fits you: veronicayeary.com/sell-and-buy

Call or text 469-441-8890 · veronica@veronicayeary.com

Veronica Yeary, Realtor®, CRS, ABR, SRS, CIPS · All City Real Estate DFW · Dallas-Fort Worth. This isn't legal, tax or loan advice: your lender and the title company confirm your case.